New investments by local banks double capacity of loan pool for affordable housing

A second round of funding from local banks is adding $6.3 million to the Housing Trust Silicon Valley 2015 Loan Pool that will help affordable housing developers expand multifamily housing opportunities in the Silicon Valley/Bay Area region.

The initial 2015 Loan Pool was launched in 2015 with $7.8 million and has been used for financing 280 affordable homes. The new investment, plus a $2 million commitment from the Housing Trust, brings the total in the pool to $16.1 million that will be used to fund acquisition, predevelopment, bridge and construction loans for affordable housing.

The first loan from the expanded pool has been approved to help Palo Alto Housing Corporation purchase land for the construction of a 100-unit affordable housing multifamily project in the Terra Bella neighborhood of northwest Mountain View.

“Participating in the Housing Trust Loan Pool allows us to support affordable housing construction like the Terra Bella project that is so critical in our region,” said Tim Boothe, Executive Vice President of Bridge Bank, a division of Western Alliance Bank, that committed $1 million to the original loan pool and an additional $1 million in this second round. “Reducing the impact of the housing crisis is important for our area to have a sustainable economic future and an acceptable quality of life for everyone who lives here.”

Other financial institutions that have committed funds to the second round of the 2015 Loan Pool include Beneficial State Bank, East West Bank, Presidio Bank, Manufacturers Bank, and Avidbank which is starting its new relationship with the Housing Trust with an investment in this pool.

“The Loan Pool is a textbook example how collaborations can be a win-win situation,” said Kevin Zwick, Chief Executive Officer of the Housing Trust. “The banks who participate are sharing the risk with other members of the pool and together their commitment to affordable housing is helping thousands of people in our region find a safe, stable place to live they can afford.”

The Housing Trust also manages a second loan pool, the Affordable Housing Growth Fund, that has used $8.7 million pooled from eight financial institutions and the Housing Trust itself to make loans that have resulted in the preservation and development of affordable housing for more than 650 low income families, seniors and veterans.

Earlier this year, the Housing Trust announced a new TECH Fund campaign, a new opportunity for corporations and foundations to invest in affordable housing developments that will add or preserve 10,000 homes in the region over the next 10 years if the first round goal of $50 million is attained.

Since 2000, Housing Trust Silicon Valley has invested $131 million in multifamily lending, home ownership assistance and homelessness reduction programs that created 14,858 affordable housing opportunities. It is the first nonprofit Community Development Finance Institute (CDFI) to receive a Standard & Poor’s rating, AA-. For more information, visit HousingTrustSV.org.